Three vying for seat on Lewisville school board in Nov. 5 election

Problems with the iPad rollout in schools has been a key issue raised by candidates running for an open seat on the Lewisville ISD Board of Trustees.

Angie Cox, Tracy Scott Miller and Paige Shoven are vying for the Place 3 seat, which was vacated by Mark Welding earlier this year.

All the candidates say they support the district’s technology push. It includes a plan to put iPads and other devices into the hands of students, in first through 12th grades, by 2016.

But they’re critical of the security breaches and system crashes that have accompanied the initiative. They offered their own assessments on how these problems could have been avoided and gave their views on other issues facing the district.

Early voting started Monday for the Nov. 5 election.

Cox, of Flower Mound, promises to be transparent, accessible and accountable to her constituents if elected.

She believes her many years of civic involvement have shown she’s a leader and committed to the community.

Cox thinks the iPad rollout should have been more gradual. She says the district should have assessed the outcome of a pilot program last year at two middle schools and a high school.

“We put iPads in the hands of kids and we didn’t get an assessment of the first deployment,” she said.

Cox also thinks more needs to be done to help teachers adapt to iPad-based learning. “I hear some teachers love them and some don’t love them,” she said. “We’re not engaging our teachers.”

She calls for a committee of students, parents, teachers and department heads to provide continual feedback to the district on the strategic design initiative.

Apart from the technology concerns, Cox criticized the district for not including any parents on a communications committee and failing to televise budget work sessions.

She was also critical of the handling of a controversial rezoning plan in Flower Mound.

Miller, of Highland Village, said his background in technology sets him apart from the other candidates and would be an asset on the board at this critical time.

While he supports the intent of the technology initiative, he thinks it’s been a “mistake that we’re an Apple-centric district. I would have preferred a device-agnostic district.”

He thinks dependence on one device brings the district to its knees when something goes wrong.

Rather than spending taxpayer dollars to buy iPads for all students, he thinks many parents can afford to equip their children with devices and favors a pay-as-you-go strategy to purchase technology.

To address the current problems, Miller advocates appointing a technology advisory council that would draw on the talents of parents within the district who work in the computer industry.

“I wouldn’t cancel it,” Miller said of the district’s initiative. “I’d take a step back and rethink it.”

Miller, who is not accepting donations for his campaign, said he supports school choice and thinks charter schools would foster competition that would improve all schools.

Shoven is a Lewisville resident who is making her third bid for the school board. She narrowly lost the Place 3 seat in May.

Shoven believes her active role in the school district, which includes regular attendance at school board meetings, makes her the most qualified candidate.

“I can hit the ground running,” she told the audience at a recent candidate forum. “That’s what sets me apart.”

Shoven thinks the district should have had a project manager to oversee the technology rollout. “You need one person to make sure the small details are covered,” she said. “That piece is missing.”

Instead of the district spending $24 million to buy iPads for students, Shoven has promoted a lease-to-own plan similar to the way band instruments are provided for students.

She would also like to provide more support for teachers who aren’t tech-savvy and don’t feel they’ve received enough training.

Shoven thinks the school district is on the right track. “In the last year and a half, we’ve started moving in the right direction,” she said. “I want to make sure we don’t backslide.”

ANGIE COX

Age: 43

Birthplace: Lawton, Okla.

Occupation: Owner of a cleaning service and escrow officer at a title company

Education: Bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from University of North Texas

Career: Sales representative for the Lewisville News; worked in the title business for 16 years

Political, civic involvement: Ran unsuccessfully for the Flower Mound Town Council in 2009; board member of the Lewisville Education Foundation; member of the LISD bond oversight commission; mentor with Communities in Schools

Website: cox4lisd.com

TRACY SCOTT MILLER

Age: 49

Birthplace: Freeport, Ill.

Occupation: Executive with a technology outsourcing company

Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Judson College in Illinois; attended an executive program at the Yale School of Management

Career: Systems engineer with IBM; managing director for a consulting company before his current job

Political, civic involvement: Served on the Double Oak Town Council for five terms; started the Double Oak Citizens Commission; served on the Double Oak Storm Water Runoff Committee

Career: Has worked as an optician in the Longview and Lewisville areas since 1995

Political, civic involvement: Ran unsuccessfully for an LISD seat in 2012 and in May; serves on LISD’s House Bill 5 committee and facilities assessment committee, participated in the strategic design process, volunteers with Communities in Schools

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